1. Technical Field
Embodiments generally relate to the monitoring of individual in-home mobility. More particularly, embodiments relate to the measurement of gait velocity and dwell time in a residential setting.
2. Discussion
Falls in the elderly may represent a substantial healthcare problem worldwide. Indeed, a significant percentage of people over seventy years of age experience a significant fall, and the frequency of falls increases with age and the level of frailty. Conventional healthcare solutions may involve conducting manual assessments of patients in clinical environments to obtain estimates of gait velocity, which could be an indicator of frailty and of increased risk of falls. Manual assessments, however, can be labor intensive and time consuming. In addition, clinical systems may be expensive, might not address deployment issues that are unique to in-home deployments, and are therefore typically not scalable to commercial, in-home applications. Moreover, gait velocity estimates may not be accurate and other considerations could also contribute to the frailty determination. Thus, there still remains considerable room for improvement with regard to the monitoring of individual in-home mobility.